First Afternoon in Venice

Waiting to get the Viking group together at the airport in Venice. We were hot and tired. Are we having fun yet?

We walked about a mile to get on a water transport. It was like a motor coach, but on water. Daniel was our pleasant and helpful Viking host for the 55 minute ride. Did I mention no air conditioning? 

Many boats traverse the lagoon, which is quite shallow. They mark the "roads" where the water is deep enough with these pilings. The white squares painted on them let the driver know he is inside a navigable water way. There aren't any signs, so I guess they just memorize the routes??

We passed by so many islands I lost track of all the names.

   There were lots of Catholic churches to see along our route.

Finally we arrived at the Hilton Molina Stucky. I'm standing on the deck in front of the hotel. It is right on the water. 

Checking in was more painful than necessary. Things seem to happen slower in Italy. With a large group checking in, somehow the hotel had only one or two people at the reception desk. We stood in line for about an hour. 

The hotel had us confused for a bit. We got on the wrong elevator the first time. The elevators were very small with mirrored walls. 

                We finally found our floor. 

Imagine our surprise to find champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. 

After it was too late we found the card from the hotel welcoming a different couple. Oops. 

Ricky sampled the gold one. What a nice treat (even if it wasn't really meant for us) to soften the hard edge of the travel. 

Our room was very nice. The walls were painted and decaled in a decorative way to call attention to the architecture of the building and its former life as a flour mill.

Our bathroom was a towfer. You could choose seat A or seat B. Or have a party where everybody sits!

Not really. One was a bidet. Ricky said, "It scares me."

On another note, the marble tile was beautiful.

 The less than spectacular view from our window.

We freshened up and went to the Skyline Bar on the rooftop to enjoy the view of the Giudicca canal. 

It took a minute to get used to the reality that the canals and waterways are the roads and boats are the transport. This is like looking at their version of the freeway. There are no cars in Venice. Also, I didn't see a single bicycle, motorcycle, scooter, or any wheeled or motorized transportation. Walking. Boats. Handcarts. That's it. 

Ricky was not a fan of Italian whiskey. Guess that's best left to the Canadians. 

      Still tired, but feeling more excited!

Portrait of Giovanni Stucky who built this magnificent building that was once a flour mill and bread and pasta factory.

There were lots of displays of glass creations. Venice is famous for the glass blowers on Murano and Burano. We were told they have to apprentice for 20 years to get full status. 

This was a clear glass maze-like sphere with a black glass human form in the center. 

     The floors were gorgeous marble tile. 

We had an early supper at the hotel and called it a night. Pasta was the choice. 

I really like the industrial remnants fou n d everywhere in the building.

I just thought I had tasted balsamic vinegar. Man oh man. That balsamico and Stucky Olive Oil were delicious on the bread.